This is because this hideous-looking fish could be our last best hope in our frantic search for energy sources.

It took a 16-year-old high schooler to find a solution to the problem posed by this lowly fish to the city of Marikina.

Raymond Joseph Amurao, a senior from Marikina Science High School (MSHS), was engaged in a school science project when he discovered that oil from the janitor fish could be used as bio-diesel to run motor vehicles.

Also called sucker mouth catfish, the janitor fish has been multiplying by the thousands daily, thus upsetting the ecological balance in the Marikina River and clogging other Metro Manila waterways.

The Marikina city government has launched several programs beginning in 2004 including the "Oplan Alis janitor fish," paying R0.20 for every catch regardless of size, in an effort to lessen the population of the fish which is destroying the riverbanks.

Fuel from fish

Little did Raymond knew that the fish considered as pest would be his ticket to fame.

A graduating high school student, Raymond, or Emong as he is fondly called, was one of six winners of the Intel Philippines Science and Engineering Fair held at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City last February.

In May he will again compete against 1,400 students from more than 40 countries for scholarships, tuition grants, scientific field trips and the grand prize of ,000 in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the US state of Indiana.

Emong’s feat involved an experiment in which he proved that oil extracted from the janitor fish could be turned into bio-fuel comparable to the combustibility of coco diesel and petroleum used to run motor vehicles.

Emong’s mother Janet, a chemistry teacher who served as his coach, said scientists had tried to use soybean, sugar cane and coconut to produce biodiesel, but no one had tried fish oil.

"The janitor fish has almost similar characteristics to coco diesel," she said. Coco diesel is a fuel oil extracted from coconut that the government has been promoting as an additive to the high-priced petroleum.

Accidental discovery

It was Janet who brought the janitor fish challenge to the Marikina Science High School. Janet is a member of the socalled Benefish committee presided by Victor Yew, the head of Filipino Inventors Society.

Janet asked Marikina high school students to find something useful in the janitor fish. The students then started experimenting.

She described her son, youngest of her three children, as an average student and an ordinary kid who stumbled on a discovery.

"Si Emong masipag mag-aral pero hindi siya running for honors," she said.

Emong and his group mates were initially working on an experiment to turn janitor fish meat into a component of chicken feed.

"I was in charge of boiling the fish meat because it was very hard," said Raymond. "But when I opened the pot I noticed a considerable amount of oil floating in the boiling water."

"Naisip ko sayang naman. Sabi ko baka pwedeng source ng Omega 3, kaya lang hindi feasible kasi bottom feeder ang janitor fish," he said.

So, he tried to convert the oil into soap, but the smell was pungent.

Then he started reading about coco-diesel and thought of converting the fish oil into bio-fuel.

His initial experiment, said Emong, includes 23 pieces of janitor fish. Each fish weighed 500 grams.

"This yields 500 milliliters of fish oil. One hundred milliters of oil can produce 72 milliters of biodiesel," said the young scientist.

Tedious process

According to Emong, like the coco-diesel, the bio-fuel from janitor fish oil is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two byproducts--- methyl esters (the chemical name for bio-diesel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually used in soaps and other products.)

"Yung fuel from fish oil ay pwedeng gamitin sa sasakyan as additive to petroleum. We can also use it to light lamps instead of kerosene," he said.

Though the product has not been tested in motorrun vehicles, Emong said, the oil has undergone chemical processes and tests which showed that it has a better fuel value compared to kerosene, diesel, denatured alcohol and coco-diesel.

Emong is now preparing for the international competition and hopes of making it big in the competition.

But after the competition, he said, he would request the local government of Marikina to do large scale research for his discovery’s application so it could become a source of livelihood for residents of Marikina.

Emong said he would want to be like his mom Janet -- a chemist. He hopes he could receive a scholarship grant abroad to further his studies.

He said for aspiring scientists like him, "dapat curious ka, pero dapat ang mag lead sa yo e yung faith mo kay God--- yung iba nagtitiwala lang sa scientific skills nila."

"I hope I could also inspire average students like me. (I’ve found out that) even if you’re just an ordinary guy, you could make a big difference with your faith," he said.